Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Keep an Eye Out For Bartonella

https://www.galaxydx.com/bartonella-and-the-eyes/

By Galaxy Lab

written on September 4, 2019

Keep an “Eye” Out for Bartonella Infections

Patients with Bartonella species infection (bartonellosis) complain of a variety of nonspecific vision problems that can affect every function of the eye. Making diagnosis and treatment decisions even more difficult, these problems can be caused by a variety of other pathogens and diseases. Fortunately, many peer-reviewed case publications, especially in ophthalmology journals, are available that describe both common and uncommon eye symptoms caused by bartonellosis.

Documented links between Bartonella species infection and vision problems focus on Bartonella henselae (cat scratch disease) and Bartonella quintana (trench fever). B. henselae is associated with contact with animals and vectors, especially cats and fleas, while B. quintana is associated with body lice. Additional species implicated include B. elizabethae and B. grahamii.

Overview

The eye consists of structures that focus light on nerve receptors at the back of the eye, nerves that feed into the optic nerve which connects to the brain, and a blood supply that connects through a central artery and vein into the body’s blood circulation. Bartonellosis can affect each of these parts of the eye.

    A diagram of the eye (Source: NIH).

Patients with bartonellosis-related eye problems may have symptoms in other organs as well that can help clarify whether the eye symptoms are caused by bartonellosis. Ophthalmologists and other physicians look for these additional signs because all of the eye conditions that can be caused by bartonellosis can be caused by a variety of bacteria and viruses, as well as other health conditions including autoimmune disorders.

It can be difficult to narrow down the possible causes of bartonellosis. Sometimes patients can’t remember any events that would have exposed them to Bartonella species. Other times the event, such as a cat scratch, may have occurred weeks to a month or more before symptoms appear and the patient may not think there is a connection. It can take detailed questioning by physicians to identify the possibility of Bartonella species exposure.

Structural Eye Symptoms

The most common way bartonellosis is seen in the eye is called Parinaud oculoglandular syndrome (POGS). About five percent of patients with acute cat scratch disease have this syndrome, which is characterized by follicular conjunctivitis (pink eye) with swollen lymph nodes nearby. It is often accompanied by a fever, and there may be bumps on the eyelid. Other symptoms known to be caused by bartonellosis, such as endocarditis (swelling of the inner lining of the heart), may also indicate that bartonellosis should be suspected.

 

Conjunctivitis results in easily seen inflammation of the usually white part of the eye (Source: CDC).

Inflammation of the middle layer of the structure that surrounds the eyeball is called uveitis. Uveitis causes redness of the eye and can cause light sensitivity, pain and floaters. Uveitis is sometimes associated with bartonellosis.

While case reports of eye symptoms caused by bartonellosis generally describe a sudden-onset condition, one case report describes a woman who had symptoms of bartonellosis in various body organs for more than five years, including chronic conjunctivitis (pink eye). She had multiple tests and treatments over that time including a Bartonella species test that was positive but considered nonspecific. It was only after other treatments didn’t work that antibiotics were administered. The antibiotics resolved her various symptoms.

Neurological Eye Symptoms

Neuroretinitis, an inflammation of the optic nerve head, occurs in about 2% of people with cat scratch disease (acute Bartonella henselae infection). Two-thirds of cases of neuroretinitis are caused by bartonellosis.

Neuroretinitis is usually characterized by sudden, complete vision loss and swelling that creates a star pattern in the macula (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that feeds information into the optic nerve). Though this is the typical case of neuroretinitis caused by bartonellosis, it can vary greatly. It can cause changes such as seeing odd shapes or colors Furthermore, case reports have included people who lose their vision with no other symptoms, have blurry vision with a headache, and more.

Treatment can usually, but not always, restore vision, but it can take months to resolve and there can still be long-term consequences. Complications can also occur. In one case, a child was diagnosed with neuroretinitis. Treatment was started six weeks after the diagnosis, but his vision in one eye got worse. After treatment, a full-thickness macular hole was discovered. The hole was monitored and resolved after six months.

Vascular Eye Symptoms

The eye has an important network of tiny blood vessels that provide nourishment to the tissue, but unnecessary growth of new capillaries can lead to a range of symptoms such as vision problems. Vasoproliferation (irregular growth of new blood vessels) may be more common in immunocompromised people, such as those being treated with chemotherapy products. These symptoms can be observed on the skin and in the liver and spleen and may also occur in the eye.

Tiny blood vessels in the eyes supply nutrients to cells. In the above image, larger retinal blood vessels can be seen (Source: NIH).

Vasoproliferative symptoms seem to be caused by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulated by bartonellosis. More research on the relationship between VEGF and bartonellosis is needed. Meanwhile, anti-VEGF agents have been used to treat vasoproliferative eye symptoms.

Conclusion

Bartonellosis can affect every part of the eye, and symptoms can be sudden and severe. Diagnosis and treatment decisions are complicated by other pathogens and diseases that can cause similar symptoms. It is important for patients and physicians to be aware of any prior animal or insect exposure that may indicate Bartonella infection. Considering additional systemic symptoms of bartonellosis may also help to clarify the diagnosis.  

Learn more about bartonellosis and the testing that Galaxy Diagnostics offers here.

References

Kalogeropoulos, C. et al. (2011). Bartonella and intraocular inflammation: A series of cases and review of literature. Clinical Ophthalmology, 5, 817-829. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S20157 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130920/

Accorinti, M. (2009). Ocular bartonellosis. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(3), 131-132. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2659486/

Rolain, J-M., & Raoult, D. (2012). Bartonella infections. In L. Goldman & A. I. Schafer (Eds.), Goldman’s Cecil medicine (24th ed., ch. 323, pp. 1906-1910). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/parinauds-oculoglandular-syndrome

Spinella, A. et al. (2012). Beyond cat scratch disease: A case report of Bartonella infection mimicking vasculitic disorder. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases, 2012, article 354625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/354625 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/criid/2012/354625/

Woo, M. et al. (2018). A case of retinal vessel occlusion caused by Bartonella infection. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 33(47), e297. doi:10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e297 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236082/

Fairbanks, A. M. et al. (2019). Treatment strategies for neuroretinitis: Current options and emerging therapies. Current Treatment Options in Neurology, 21(8), 36. doi:10.1007/s11940-019-0579-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31278547

Michel, Z. et al. (2019). Multimodal imaging of two unconventional cases of Bartonella neuroretinitis [epub ahead of print]. Retinal Cases & Brief Reports. doi:10.1097/ICB.0000000000000893 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31348120

Gunzenhauser, R. C. et al. (2019). The development and spontaneous resolution of a full-thickness macular hole in Bartonella henselae neuroretinitis in a 12-year-old boy. American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, 15, 100515. doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2019.100515 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31341998

Toumanidou, V. et al. (2017). Neuroretinitis secondary to Bartonella henselae in a patient with myelinated retinal nerve fibers: Diagnostic dilemmas and treatment. Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, 27(3), 396-398. doi:10.1080/09273948.2017.1409357 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29283743

Semes, L. P. (2018, March 23). Optic disc swelling early sign of cat-scratch neuroretinitis [sic]. OptometryTimes.com. Available at: https://www.optometrytimes.com/editors-choice-opt/optic-disc-swelling-early-sign-cat-scratch-neruoretinitis

Mabra, D. et al. (2018). Ocular manifestations of bartonellosis. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, 29(6), 582-587. doi:10.1097/ICU.0000000000000522 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30124532

Beckerman, Z. et al. (2019). Rare presentation of endocarditis and mycotic brain aneurysm [epub ahead of print]. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2019.06.073 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31425670

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**Comment**

Another great article by Galaxy Lab. Please read the following article for more information on Bartonella, as various strains are suspected to be transmitted by ticks, mites, various flies and spiders, and other modes, and it is far more prevalent than thought:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/  Fifteen species of gram-negative aerobic Bartonella are known to infect humans; however Dr. Ricardo Maggi’s statement is quite telling, “This case reinforces the hypothesis that any Bartonella species can cause human infection.”  

For more on Bartonella and the eyes:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/08/case-series-bartonella-ocular-manifestations/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/06/ocular-manifestations-of-bartonellosis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/21/bartonella-and-neuroretinitis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/06/ocular-bartonellosis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/28/treatment-strategies-for-neuroretinitis-due-to-bartonella-current-options-emerging-therapies/

 

Category:

Activism, Bartonella, Ticks, Transmission

Babesia Subverts Adaptive Immunity and Enhances Lyme Disease Severity

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6635642/

. 2019; 10: 1596.
Published online 2019 Jul 10. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01596
PMCID: PMC6635642
PMID: 31354683

Protozoan Parasite Babesia microti Subverts Adaptive Immunity and Enhances Lyme Disease Severity

Vitomir Djokic,1,† Lavoisier Akoolo,1,† Shekerah Primus,1 Samantha Schlachter,1,‡ Kathleen Kelly,2 Purnima Bhanot,1and Nikhat Parveen1,

Abstract

Lyme disease is the most prominent tick-borne disease in the United States. Co-infections with the tick-transmitted pathogens Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto are becoming a serious health problem. B. burgdorferi is an extracellular spirochete that causes Lyme disease while B. microti is a protozoan that infects erythrocytes and causes babesiosis. Testing of donated blood for Babesia species is not currently mandatory due to unavailability of an FDA approved test. Transmission of this protozoan by blood transfusion often results in high morbidity and mortality in recipients.

Infection of C3H/HeJ mice with B. burgdorferi and B. microti individually results in inflammatory Lyme disease and display of human babesiosis-like symptoms, respectively.

Here we use this mouse model to provide a detailed investigation of the reciprocal influence of the two pathogens on each other during co-infection.

We show that

  • burgdorferi infection attenuates parasitemia in mice while
  • B. microti subverts the splenic immune response, such that a marked decrease in splenic B and T cells, reduction in antibody levels and diminished functional humoral immunity, as determined by spirochete opsonophagocytosis, are observed in co-infected mice compared to only B. burgdorferi infected mice

Furthermore

  • immunosuppression by B. microti in co-infected mice showed an association with enhanced Lyme disease manifestations.

This study demonstrates the effect of only simultaneous infection by B. burgdorferi and B. microti on each pathogen, immune response and on disease manifestations with respect to infection by the spirochete and the parasite. In our future studies, we will examine the overall effects of sequential infection by these pathogens on host immune responses and disease outcomes.

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**Comment**

Two of the authors recently completed a review of literature on concurrent Babesia and Lyme infections:   https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/25/babesia-microti-borrelia-burgdorferi-coinfection/

Due to the high prevalence of infection and the issues of congenital transmission and transmission through blood transfusion, the issue of concurrent infection and what it does to animal and human health is of paramount importance.

For more on Babesia:   https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/ Symptom checklist within this link as well as treatment options.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/11/babesia-found-in-patient-with-persistent-symptoms-following-lyme-treatment/

While a current article downplays Babesia in Canada, another article shows it’s much more of a problem than suspected:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/21/prevalence-of-babesia-in-canadian-blood-donors-june-october-2018/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/11/characteristics-of-transfusion-transmitted-babesia-microti-american-red-cross-2010-2017/  This clearly shows there were more than 200 Babesia transfusion-transmissions reported. It also shows you don’t have to reside in an endemic area or travel to an endemic area to get it. The article also clearly points out that the geographic range of ticks is expanding, which means the pathogens they carry will as well.

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission

Viral Diversity of Tick Species Parasitizing Cattle and Dogs in Trinidad and Tobago

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46914-1

Published:

Viral Diversity of Tick Species Parasitizing Cattle and Dogs in Trinidad and Tobago

Stephen Sameroff, Rafal Tokarz,Roxanne Albertha Charles,Komal Jain, Alexandra Oleynik,Xiaoyu Che,Karla Georges,Christine V. Carrington,W. Ian Lipkin &Chris Oura

Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 10421 (2019) | Download Citation

Abstract

Ticks are vectors of a wide variety of pathogens that are implicated in mild to severe disease in humans and other animals. Nonetheless, the full range of tick-borne pathogens is unknown. Viruses, in particular, have been neglected in discovery efforts targeting tick-borne agents. High throughput sequencing was used to characterize the virome of 638 ticks, including Rhipicephalus microplus (n = 320), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (n = 300), and Amblyomma ovale (n = 18) collected throughout Trinidad and Tobago in 2017 and 2018. Sequences representing nine viruses were identified, including five novel species within Tymovirales, Bunyavirales, Chuviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Flaviviridae. Thereafter the frequency of detection of viral sequences in individual tick species was investigated.

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**Comment**

Understatement of the year: “Viruses, in particular, have been neglected in discovery efforts targeting tick-borne agents.”

What happens when a person contracts Lyme disease and tick-borne viruses at the same time?
Answer: Nobody knows.

Fact from the past: Dr. Allen Steere, the first to be on the scene in Connecticut’s outbreak, first believed the outbreak to be viral:  https://sites.google.com/site/jerryleonard999/home/allen-steere-psychopath-at-large#  He also insisted that Ixodes ticks are the only ones capable of transmitting Lyme and that any long-term damage was due to the patient’s immune system. Dr. Burrascano demonstrated that Steere’s patients that were treated and stated to be “cured,” were still infected by biopsies, cultures, and DNA probes. Steere’s stance is one and the same with the IDSA and the CDC.

Are viruses an unknown entity in Lyme/MSIDS that few have considered?
Answer: I’ve heard enough to make me wonder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

research, Ticks, Viruses

Got Ticks? Send & Help IPM

The IPM Institute (Integrated Pest Management) is seeking donations of tick specimens from different regions to examine during the Tick IPM Academy on Nov. 6 & 7, 2019. Please mail in ticks at least a week before. Below is the IPM Institute’s address where specimens you wish to donate may be sent.

This is for examination only – no pathogen reporting will occur.

The IPM Institute of North America, Inc.
ATTN: Maria Weber
211 S. Paterson Street, Suite 380
Madison, Wisconsin 53703

Thank you,

Maria Weber
Team Member, Sustainable Food Group
Office: (608) 232-1410 x 1009

IPM Institute of North America, Inc.<http://ipminstitute.org/>

Details about annual Tick IPM Academy: FINAL Tick IPM Academy Announcement 082719

 

 

Category:

Activism, research, Ticks

Open Letter to Governors & Congressmen in Lyme Endemic Areas

Congress Short letter

The letter in the link above was written by microbiologist Tom Grier, who is director of pathology studies for the Dr. Paul H. Duray Pathology Fellowship.

In it, he explains why Lyme disease is so confusing, what the medical experts got wrong, and the following untrue facts have been disseminated by the IDSA, CC, NIH, Yale, Harvard, SUNY, and Mayo Clinics for decades:

  • Only blacked-legged ticks transmit Lyme
  • Lyme is not congenital
  • Lyme is not intracellular
  • Lyme stays in the blood and doesn’t enter the brain
  • Elisa tests are 99% accurate
  • Lyme does not persist beyond 28 days of antibiotics
  • Lyme is mainly an arthritic disease
  • Lyme is mainly found in the NE USA
  • The Lymerix vaccine had no side effects and was pulled because of anti-vaxx hysteria
Grier also has more than 100 references and photos proving pathogen persistence after antibiotic treatment.

Here’s 700 references demonstrating pathogen persistence: Peer-Reviewed Evidence of Persistence of Lyme:MSIDS copy

Here is documentation proving the conflicts of interests:  ConflictReport

Grier’s letter takes on exactly what I was referring to when I wrote my comment about this article: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/24/its-time-to-get-serious-about-tick-borne-diseases/  If we are truly going to “get serious” about this pandemic, then we need to be concerned about what type of research is being funded. Right now there is a Pied Piper pushing a climate change agenda with research. Current tick research has already proven it a mute point and has even revealed faulty, biased research pushing an ideology that doesn’t pan out:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/17/ontario-public-health-officials-called-out-on-shoddy-biased-research-utilizing-an-erroneous-climate-change-model-to-program-a-futuristic-tick-problem/ This type of research is diverting dollars from neglected areas that demand answers such as accurate testing and diagnostics as well as transmission studies and effective treatments.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment